A Better World for All
by dragonscales00
Summary: What if Hawkgirl abandoned her ideals as a soldier and confessed to her team members? What if a certain madman spied on her confession and used it as an excuse? An AU from the episode A Better World where Hawkgirl was forgiven for her deception just in time to convince Thanagar to leave Earth alone but was made the target of a greater threat, for herself and her counterpart.
1. Chapter 1

**Universe 2**

 _Two Years ago_

 _Soldiers stormed the hallway intent on trying to stall Superman and Green Lantern from entering the President's Office. They were easily beaten back as though they were paper. Their weapons were harmless against Superman's strength and the Green Lantern's light._

 _"_ _Batman? Wonder Woman? Are you there?" asked Superman as he pressed into his com-link._

 _"_ _We're here Superman." Responded Diana as she beat back two guards carrying batons._

 _"_ _How's Flash doing?" asked Superman as he and John flew down the hallway._

 _"_ _He's taken care of the outside forces with J'onn. They'll meet us inside shortly after taking care of the police. Wait for us." Said Batman as he threw a couple of flash pellets, blinding the guards._

 _"_ _No, we've waited too long as it is." growled John as he surged forward with green light and blew down the door to the Oval Office. He and Superman flew in to see Lex Luthor mumbling to himself and packing up paper._

 _"_ _Those fools," they heard him say, "They couldn't see the beauty. No imagination. They'd rather fight."_

 _"_ _Even this wasn't enough for you, was it? You had to have it all. Now we're on the brink of a war that could destroy the whole planet." said Superman as he and Lantern both stood in front of the desk._

 _"_ _It could have been so perfect," bemoaned Luthor, "Paradise."_

 _"_ _And I let it get this far, because of the law… and the will of the people." said Superman._

 _"_ _Ha! The people? This is all their fault," said Luthor, a mad glint in his eye, "And now they're going to burn for it. Burn!"_

 _"_ _You're nothing but a mad dog now aren't you?" mocked Lantern. Luthor scoffed at his words and continued to work through his papers._

 _"_ _We have stood by the sidelines letting you get away with many things because it was the law and because of our belief in the free will. Well no more." Said Superman as he stepped forward. Luthor saw him walk towards him and quickly flipped a panel that revealed a red button._

 _"_ _One more step and I'll press this button for a global war." Threatened Luthor._

 _"_ _I can count an infinite number of ways Lantern or I can stop you." Said Superman._

 _"_ _But they all involve lethal force don't they? None of you have the willpower to ever cross that line," mocked Luthor, "You can stop me now, but I'll be back. I always come back and I always win. You and the rest of your team can think that I'm beatable, but I'll always be back! You all love playing hero so much that you never take the time to truly eliminate any threats all for your love of the public spotlight."_

 _"_ _You're right. We did love being heroes, but if this is what being a hero brings then I don't want to be a part of it any longer." Said John as his eyes glowed green._

 _"_ _What changed your mind, Marine?" taunted Luthor, "Miss your friend? I'll tell you, I thought she would have folded over after the first week but she proved resilient through the interrogation."_

 _"_ _INTERROGATION? YOU TORTURED HER!" snarled Lantern as clenched his fist and powered up his ring. Luthor laughed however, confident that no harm would be done on him._

 _"_ _Torture? There's no such thing when it comes to beings such as her! There are no laws that protect aliens so it's all fair game. She was going to betray the planet anyways. She deserved to die." snarled Luthor, ready to press down on the button only to be hit upside the head by a batarang, knocking him backwards and away from the button. Flash was suddenly in the room closing the panel and tying Luthor up with the curtains. Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and J'onn joined Superman and Lantern as they circled around the tied up fiend._

 _"She had already convinced her homeworld that Earth was heavily defended. They had moved on to a desert planet. You killed her for nothing, you monster!" snarled Lantern, holding back his rage. Luthor noticed however and decided to mock him._

 _"_ _What's the matter? Too weak to actually do anything?" cackled Luthor._

 _Batman and the others sneered at the mad President and left the office, leaving Lantern and Superman with him._

 _"_ _It's over Luthor." Said Lantern quietly. Luthor gave another cackle and said, "Haven't I already told you? I'll always come back!"_

 _"_ _Not this time." Said Superman. His eyes glowed red with heat vision and the Lantern's ring glowed an ominous green. The last Luthor will ever see on his time on Earth was the searing red and green coming at him. John and Superman both looked at the crisp body before looking out the window._

 _"_ _So how do you feel?" asked Superman._

 _"_ _A little better," Said John as he looked outside and saw the rest of the team addressing the public, "How do you feel?"_

 _Superman was looking out towards the skies before turning to John smiling and said, "Never better."_

Present Day

The Watchtower orbited Earth in its never-ending mission of protecting mankind. J'onn J'onnz stood at the main control panel of the monitor room along with hundreds of other workers monitoring the safety and peace of Earth.

"Section 28, clear."

"Section 29, alert terminated."

"Section 30, clear."

"Section 31, report delayed."

That brought the attention of the Martian who looked over and asked, "Why is there a delay?"

"A storm is circling around the section. Nothing major, everybody has been evacuated." Explained the worker. J'onn nodded his head in understanding and said, "Let's continue then. Section 32?"

On went on the roll call and while J'onn was busy with monitoring the Earth, Diana was walking down a hallway sporting a bob cut and new clothes. She watched the stars for a while before noticing that she wasn't alone. She saw John at the other end of the hallway staring off into space, often at times rubbing his power ring or his engagement ring. Diana felt a wave of sadness sweep through her as she realized that tomorrow would be the anniversary and she decided to talk with John.

John gave no indication that he knew Diana was there, so she took it as a sign to talk.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, watching as he flexed his fingers.

"I always thought I could get over it, but every time I think I do she's there in my thoughts anyways." Said John.

"Stubborn. Like always?" questioned Diana, smiling sadly at the memory of her lost sister. John gave a small chuckle and said, "I always keep expecting her to fly into the room and have me run drills."

"Or else she'll knock you into next Tuesday?" chuckled Diana when she remembered the colorful threats that was often thrown around during training. John chuckled as he remembered those days but stopped smiling just as quickly.

"I miss her too, John." Said Diana as she comfortingly patted his shoulder before walking away. John sighed as he was left alone again in the hallway and stared out the window to see the Sun peeking out from behind the Earth. He could recall the ungodly hours of the morning she would wake him up in his apartment to fly out all the way to the tallest building in Detroit and watch the sunrise. He felt the air blow past him as someone ran past him at high speed and turned to see Flash in his yellow suit.

"How you doing?" he asked. John gave a brisk nod and wishing people would stop asking him how he was feeling.

"I miss her too," said Flash, "She was like the older sister I always wanted but you know… shorter." John smiled at the kid's humor. It took a while for the Flash to recover back to his old self but he was more serious than light-hearted most days. Flash and John conversed about their days for a while until Superman entered the hallway.

"There's a protest forming in Smallville, I need you two to care of it." Ordered Superman, his new black and white uniform made him even more larger than life than his previous suit did.

"You're not coming with? It's your hometown after all." Asked Flash.

"No, I have a dinner date." Said Superman as he left the hallway. Flash and John gave each other raised eyebrows and left to the monitor room.

"While you're down there, try to get Batman out of his cave. Even I find it depressing." Said J'onn as he started up the teleporter.

"Will do." Said Flash as he and John were beamed at the outskirts of Smallville.

 _Smallville_

"Flash to Batman. Come in." said the Flash in his communicator.

"What is it?" came the brisk voice of Batman.

"Civil Disobedience down at Smallville. Care to join?"

"Too much to do." said Batman.

"Come on. For old times sakes."

"I hate old times."

Flash shrugged at John and they made their way to the University. John flew while Flash ran towards the Smallville University where they could see a group of students protesting for their right to vote. A riot squad was already in place and made a solid wall in front of the school. John and Flash met up on top of a nearby building and watched as one student got too close and got pushed back into the group. The students began to throw rocks and whatever they could reach at the police. One particular student lit up a Molotov and threw it at the police. Before it could even reach the policeman however, the Molotov was gone.

The students were baffled until one of them yelled out, "Watch out! They're here!" Every student turned to see the Flash holding a doused Molotov and the Green Lantern, eyes glowing ominously. Students ran away in different directions away from the University, but the Molotov throwing student was suddenly in handcuffs and placed in the back of a police vehicle courtesy of the Flash. Flash and John remained on the rooftop to oversee the police handling the rest of the students.

"I used to remember a time when people weren't so afraid of us." Said Flash, watching as passersby ducked their heads and avoided looking directly at them.

"Do you? I remember a time growing up where I always laid awake at night fearing that it was going to be my last day on Earth. I was always worried sick for my loved ones and it wasn't until I lost it all that I realized that I can prevent that from happening to anyone else." Said John.

"I… D-… Can I ask you a personal question?" asked Flash.

"Go on."

"What was the name going to be?" asked Flash, worried that perhaps he should have asked a different question. John was silent for a long time until he said, "Hektar Wallace Stewart for a boy, Abigail Stewart for a girl."

"Wallace… was that for-?" said Flash as he pointed at himself. John smiled and said, "She told me that you always reminded her of her little brother."

They both gave each other sad smiles for things that will never be and turned around to head back to the Watchtower. They almost made it outside the city limit when they heard Batman speak to them through the com-link, "I need everybody to report to the Batcave immediately."

Flash and John gave each other quizzical looks but nonetheless made their way outside the city where they waited on J'onn to teleport them immediately to Gotham. Once everyone was there Batman led everyone to a large screen next to a strange looking machine. He turned the screen on and they were immediately met with mirror images of themselves fighting against a super-suit Luthor.

"What is this? Old footage of ourselves fighting?" asked Flash.

"No, this fight is happening right now as we speak. We are looking at another dimension right now, except in this dimension they call themselves the Justice _League_ not the Justice _Lords_." Explained Batman, earning shocked looks from his fellow team members.

"They look like the mess we used to be." Remarked Diana.

"Their Luthor is still alive." Said Superman with a slight vexation in his voice.

"We never had fights with Luthor like this." Observed J'onn as he watched Luthor fight against their counterparts with his green iron suit, something that their Luthor never possessed during his time on Earth.

"We didn't." agreed Flash.

"I'm surprised they lasted this long. That suit of Luthor's seems to be a match for even Superman's strength." Said Diana as the fight with Luthor and their counterparts escalated, with their counterparts not taking any extreme action.

"It's probably because in this dimension, their Hawkgirl is still alive." Said Batman. As he was saying it, the winged hero flew past the camera with her mace charged up and knocked back Luthor as he was attempting to terminate the alternate Batman, who was helping the alternate Lantern remove the debris that was on top of an unconscious J'onn. John looked at the screen with a sense of yearning and a flared feeling of lost love. He stopped himself from reaching out and touching the screen while Diana said, "Too bad we can't help them."

"Who says we can't?" said Batman as he pressed a button on the keypad and the strange machine blared to life, opening up a gateway into the other dimension.

"Will they accept our help though? Like… _our_ kind of help?" asked Flash. Everybody stared at each other, contemplating about whether or not their alternate selves with the alternate Hawkgirl will accept their help.

 **Universe 1**

Shayera gave another war cry as she slammed her mace against Luthor, attempting to stop him from flying away. He was knocked back into a pillar where he unleashed another energy wave at her. Shayera dodged his blast and circled around him.

"You fool. You think you can stop me with your flimsy mace and wings? Compared to me you are nothing but a nuisance." Mocked Luthor as he sent another energy blast at her.

"Nuisance I may be, but I think I proved to be quite a distraction don't you think?" Shayera mocked back. Luthor blinked at her words until Superman and Wonder Woman began dismantling his suit. Before they could remove his arm piece, Luthor pressed a button that sent electric waves towards Superman and Wonder Woman, harming them until they released him. Flash caught Wonder Woman before she could hit the ground and Shayera caught Superman's arm, helping him land safely on the ground. When Flash laid Diana down next to Shayera, Superman quickly recovered and said, "Come on!"

Flash and Shayera followed Superman to the basement where Luthor was powering up a laser cannon. Flash quickly ran down the stairs and dismantled it before Luthor's eyes, who had no chance to stop him as a mace to the back rendered him unconscious. Superman flew down and quickly removed the last bit of Luthor's suit, leaving only the chest piece that helped regulate his Kryptonite poisoning. Flash quickly handcuffed Luthor and zipped next to Superman to say, "Police are already on their way."

It was about ten minutes later when the police arrived and took Luthor away. Superman gave his report to the Captain in charge while the others hung back, recovering from their injuries or waiting until it was time to leave.

"How do you feel?" asked Diana as J'onn rubbed his head slightly.

"Better. Nothing that I can't recover from." Said J'onn as he sat down next to Shayera and accepted her wing for cover. Shayera had already placed her other wing around Diana who accepted the warmth of her wings from the cold air night. The police left with Luthor after Superman finished his reports and the Justice League were about to leave when a flash of light and the sound of thunder rattled the air. Everybody tensed up and got ready for battle as a square of light opened before their eyes. To their shock and surprise J'onn J'onnz emerged from the square of light wearing a different uniform to their J'onn J'onnz.

Their J'onn rose from his seating position and stood in front of the other J'onn.

"Who… Who are you?" asked J'onn.

"I'm you." said the Alternate J'onn.

It took a while for them to process the information, but after a lengthy explanation they were informed about the collapsing dimensions and the doom it would be for both worlds.

"It seems to be originating from my world, so my world's Batman sent me here to ask for assistance in looking for the source." Explained J'onn's counterpart. Batman looked at the duplicate with suspicion as he continued his explanation. He moved close to J'onn and asked, "Have you read his mind yet?"

"Martians don't do that to each other." Explained J'onn as his counterpart continued to give details about the incoming threat.

"Don't? Or won't?" questioned Batman.

"Both." Said J'onn simply.

"So it's agreed then? We'll all help out?" said Superman, he looked to J'onn and Batman who were a little behind form the others and asked, "Are you both in?"

J'onn and Batman nodded and joined the group as they all stepped into the light square.

 **Universe 2**

When they emerged in the other dimension white walls greeted them in an empty room.

"Don't you guys believe in doors and windows?" joked Flash. The other J'onn looked at them before phasing out of the room while saying, "I'm sorry."

Flash ran towards where the other J'onn last stood and everybody was immediately electrocuted. Screams of pain echoed throughout the chamber. One by one they fell to the floor, struggling to remain conscious but ultimately blacking out except for Shayera, who's tolerance allowed her to remain standing, but paralyzed at the amount of power behind the electric current. Shayera unclipped her mace from her side and fought against the power levels that was pinning her from moving. She spread her wings out and hoped that she would be able to fight against the current with her mace. She raised her mace high above her head and screamed as the current strengthened when all of the power was conducted to her mace and away from the others. She heard them groan and felt relief that they were not dead. Shayera stood up and began to knock against the walls trying to break open an exit for herself and friends.

Justice Lord Superman and Green Lantern were watching the monitoring screens as the Justice League was incapacitated. Justice Lord Batman was manning the machine and making sure that the electricity will incapacitate the League and not kill them.

"They'll thank us later." Said Lord Superman as he walked away until he heard Lord Wonder Woman say, "Uh oh."

They all watched the screens as the alternate Hawkgirl began to redirect the electric current off of everyone else and to her.

"She always was stubborn." remarked Lord Batman just as they watched her beat against the walls. They saw dents forming on the outer part of the room and Lord Lantern made his way over to the wall. When he first caught a glimpse of her, his heart stopped beating for a minute. Even with the mask on, she was still as beautiful as the day he lost her. He hesitated when he lifted his ring, intending to knock her back but her eyes looked at him in surprise and he stopped. His hesitation however gave Hawkgirl the ability to fly up and away.

"GET HER!" ordered Lord Superman.

Shayera flapped her wings faster than she has ever done before. Not even fighting against Luthor and the Legion of Doom gave her such fear than what she was feeling now. She would gladly take any other villain except her teammates' counterparts. Sure enough, she was suddenly slammed against the wall with enough force to break through. Shayera coughed as dust settled into her lungs but she quickly tried to fly away, only to have a green cage form around her. Shayera looked around and spotted the alternate Lantern with his glowing ring. Shayera began to whack against the constructed cage, only for it to begin shrinking down on her.  
"NO!" she cried out, beating against the cage harder than ever. She managed to break through, but Wonder Woman's lasso suddenly enclosed around her neck. She dropped her mace and tried to remove the lasso from her windpipe, using both hands to try and break free. Not even her sharp nails were able to cut through the rope. She felt the alternate Wonder Woman tighten her hold and Shayera began to see spots. She tried to fly away only to have her wings bound against her by alternate Batman's bolas. It was the final blow to her stomach by the alternate Flash that Shayera finally fell to her knees. She felt the lasso lessen and was able to breath, but not enough to keep her conscious. The last she heard was hearing the alternate Lantern say, "She always never did give up until she gave it all."


	2. Chapter 2

**Universe 2**

Batman groaned and opened his eyes. He was in a cell in Stryker's Prison, manacled spread-eagle across his restraints. He could spot Superman, Wonder Woman, and J'onn restrained in their own cells across from him. He wondered where Flash and Hawkgirl were and shook his head to clear his headache. He tried to move his hands to find a way to lock pick his way out when he noticed his alternate counterpart across from him. He was looking at the keypad and he figured that he might be checking to see if everything was in working order. Bruce glared at his counterpart and decided to acknowledge him by asking, "Just one question. Why?"

His counterpart looked up from the keypad and said, "Because you and your friends couldn't do what needed to be done."

They both gave each other glares before Lord Batman left, Bruce quickly felt around his manacles only to hear Lord Batman say, "There are mercury switches at your hands and feet. Any motion, and I'll know about it."

"You've thought of everything." remarked Bruce.

"No," said Lord Batman, "Just everything you'll think of."

Lord Batman walked away from his counterpart and stopped outside the Flash's cell next to Batman's cell. He was forcefully trying to break free from his restraints until he noticed Lord Batman across from him.

"And what are you looking at!?" he yelled, angry that they were tricked by their counterparts. Lord Batman didn't react to his anger except to say, "Calm down. You'll appreciate this someday."

"Yeah?" mocked Flash, "I don't think Hawkgirl's going to appreciate it too much. Where'd you put her, you jerk?"

"What happened to Hawkgirl?" asked Batman.

"They hurt her and she's not here with us. Where is she?" asked Flash to Lord Batman who had been silent throughout their communication.

"She's safe." said Lord Batman.

"What do you mean she's safe? What did you do to her?" questioned Flash.  
"We did nothing to harm her well-being. Believe me, the last thing we want is to lose another…"

"Another what?" asked Flash, trying to get him to talk but Lord Batman just looked away and walked out of the room. Batman and Flash watched as the doors closed behind him, telling them that they were alone for now.

"How did you know what happened to Hawkgirl?" asked Bruce.

"I overheard this Universe's Wonder Woman and Flash talking about it. Whatever happened to Hawkgirl … she's messed up pretty bad. They were talking about which medical doctor would be best to check on her," said Flash, "I don't get it though. Why not just tell us? They'll put her in her own cell right once she's healed?"

"I don't think so," said Batman, "more likely it has to do with whatever happened to this world's Hawkgirl."

"What do you mean?" asked Flash, wondering what the connection was.  
"I noticed the way this Universe's J'onn kept looking at Hawkgirl. He was trying to be discrete but I noticed it. It also has to with the way this Batman had said 'she's safe'." explained Batman. Flash slowly comprehended was had happened and asked, "You mean she's…"

"All this," said Batman, "had to be set off by something." Flash thought over the implications of what had happened to set off this world's Justice League… or Lords really. It was hard to ignore the news station playing as news reporters talked about the Justice Lords left and right. It was almost unnatural the way they kept praising the Lords, as though terrified of saying the wrong thing.

"But still, even Hawkgirl would agree that this has gone too far… even over her." said Flash. Batman didn't doubt Flash's words. Of all the League members, Flash really was the only one who knew Hawkgirl in another level. Hawkgirl acted very sisterly to the Flash and Flash absolutely loved the attention. Much can be said about John and Hawkgirl but their level of relationship has always been on the edge of romance.

"I still don't believe it." said Flash.

"It's really isn't that hard to believe it, if you think about it," said Batman, "Imagine if something were to happen to you. Do you think our Hawkgirl will let anyone stand in her way to get her form of justice? Would anyone of us let an injustice be carried out without a proper punishment."

"I'd rather not think about it." said Flash, but the thought was still there. He wasn't so sure he would be able to hold back if anything happened to his friends. It was a very sobering thought though, and Flash knew the dark truth to be true in that he will not hold back. Needing a distraction from the way his thoughts were turning, Flash asked, "So, have you found a way to get us out of here?"

"No."

"Don't you mean 'Not yet'?" asked Flash.

"No, I mean 'not going to'." said Batman. Flash frowned a little at his words. It wasn't like Batman to give up so easily, but then again this new world has thrown everybody through the loop. Based on the news story, Flash could only deduce that the Justice Lords were tyrants and tyrants needed to be stopped. Flash tried to vibrate his hands free from their restraints, but his manacles wouldn't budge. Flash struggled again and attempted to break free but so far nothing worked in his favor. He sighed and closed his eyes, intent on trying to figure a way out of their situation.

 **Universe 1**

John held the construct steady as he and the others did their repairs on the Watchtower. He almost scoffed at the way their counterparts left the Watchtower undefended, remembering the way they used to do it as well. With the new gun cannons set and the laser cannon on the bottom, they would be ready for any type of threat. With his ring, he welded the metal in place and waited until he heard Lord Flash say in the comm-link, "Alright, systems are stabilizing and the cannons are prepped and ready for anything."

"Good work, team," praised Lord Superman, "Let's get the situation at hand ready now. Flash, how's Hawkgirl doing?"

John listened closely as Flash said, "She's stable. The sedatives are doing their work and her vitals are showing positive. Her bruises are fading away already."

John sighed when he remembered the way she looked after they had knocked her unconscious back in their universe. She was wheezing and gasping in her unconscious state, the lasso had caused swelling on her neck. An X-ray exam showed that her cartilage had been injured so they needed to heal her up right away, but they also needed to get things set in motion in the other Universe.

They took her to the Watchtower and brought in a few discrete doctors to heal her while they worked on taking care of Doomsday. It was a lengthy fight and in the end, Superman lobotomized Doomsday much to the shock of Lois Lane, who was on the spot filming the fight in the end. John and the others easily told the press that they were trying 'new methods' of justice and one reporter asked where Hawkgirl was. John easily told them that a previous battle had injured Hawkgirl out of commission and many of the reporters accepted the fact, knowing that the team of heroes often suffered through injuries.

John and the others flew into the Watchtower and got back to work. John flew to the infirmary to relieve Flash of guard duty and thought about the last night he had with his Shayera.

 _It was just after a mission for the Guardians that John flew into the Watchtower, wanting to rest for the night. He had just finished keeping order in a civic case when the Guardians sent him back to Earth, informing him to be on stand by in case they are in need of him again. He wearily walked to his bedroom and was instantly awake when he saw her sleeping form. She had her back to him, her wings covering most of her body while the blankets were on top of her. John quietly undressed to his boxers and climbed in behind her, wrapping his arms around her form and his hand resting on her swollen stomach._

 _He felt her shift and move so she was facing him, careful of her wings so she didn't hit him. He looked into her emerald eyes and gave her a wide smile while she sleepily grinned back.  
"You were gone for too long," she said as she snuggled under his chin. John always thought of moments like this while he was out in deep space missions, it kept him from going insane whenever he was out of Earth for too long. He always felt and feared that he was losing his humanity the more time he spent outside of Earth and more time as a Green Lantern but everytime he thought of Shayera he knew who he was and it brought him home and comfort to know that she completed him the same way he completed her. He hugged her tighter and kissed her hairline while his hand softly stroked her stomach. In two months time, she will give birth to their child. _

_"_ _I'm sorry," he said, kissing her on the lips, "the civic case took longer than expected. I'm here though."_

 _"_ _You are," said Shayera as she kissed his neck, "Don't leave for too long. Three months is too long."_

 _"_ _I promise I'll try to come back faster." he chuckled as he kissed her passionately and they went to sleep. A week later John was called by the Guardians to handle a matter of an uprising just outside the Sector. John left Shayera with a good-bye kiss and a promise that it will be the last time he was called away and left with high spirits, only to return a week later to be informed by Superman about Luthor's newest legislator about unregistered extra-terrestrial to present themselves to the government in order to be properly documented. Superman was the face for the new law as he properly documented himself in front of the media. It was a new and agreeable law, but they had no idea of the turn it would take when Shayera didn't return after a week. At first they believed the government when they said that they were creating a new identity for her to live as when she has the chance to disguise her wings, but after the week ended John grew worried and asked the others to help him._

 _John and Batman investigated her disappearance only to be informed by the Federal Court that she was to be held for treason. John panicked and tried every legal means to free his wife, but it was too late. The Justice League and the world were notified that Hawkgirl had attempted to resist arrest and tried to make an escape, prompting the security to shoot her. When they returned her body to him, he had broken down crying when he saw that her once swollen stomach was flat, showing that even his child didn't make it through._

 _John had flown into a rage and attempted to break into the holding facility in order to get answers. Superman held him back and informed him that because Hawkgirl was a League member, then they will solve the mystery together. It took a lot of Batman's detective skills but they managed to find a break through when he found a file marked privately by President Luthor. In it, they learned about his attempt to destroy the League and appear like the benevolent President. His orders were to execute Hawkgirl under suspicion of 'treason' despite his officers knowing that Hawkgirl had effectively rejected her home world for Earth and had managed to divert an incoming invasion. He wanted to use Hawkgirl as a distraction for a war he wanted to build up and eventually win. Many countries were already upset with the President and he wanted to wipe out competition and enemies along the way._

 _Under Superman and Batman's orders, the information was released to the public under a false identity, which caused a major uproar throughout the world. Luthor had tried to clean up his mess, but it was too late. A week later he issued a threat to the world about creating a nuclear fallout, into which the Justice League took as their moment to intervene._

John flew in front of the door the infirmary and walked in. He saw Flash just staring at Hawkgirl's prone form and knew that the kid had missed her. Flash and Shayera had such a good brother/sister relationship where Shayera had suggested making Flash the godfather to their child.  
"Hey kid," said John as he walked up to him.

"Hey John," greeted Flash, "… it's like… it's like she never left you know?"

John nodded in understanding. Looking at this universe's Hawkgirl, it feels like it was just yesterday he had seen her. Flash left when Superman summoned him, leaving John with Hawkgirl. He saw her chest rise and fall deeply, showing that the sedatives were keeping her unconscious for now as she healed. He hesitantly reached a hand out and slowly and gently removed her mask. His breath caught in his throat when he saw her again as Shayera and not as Hawkgirl. He almost wept but kept himself in control as he stroked her red hair from her face. Even after all these years, she still rendered him stupefied. He sat down on the edge of her bed and stroked her cheek, wanting to kiss her but knowing that while she was still Shayera Hol, she was not his Shayera Hol.

He wondered how the relationship was between this Hawkgirl and his counterpart. Were they together? Did they have a good working relationship? He wouldn't know though, as soon as they fixed the problems in this world they will go back to their universe… or at least that's how Superman and Batman have planned it out. They need to teach their counterparts that they needed to take extreme action in order to maintain peace in the world. It worked very well for them and crime is almost non-existent. His Shayera would have supported their actions… or at least he thinks she will. After she had confessed her background and helped them divert Thanagar's attention from Earth and to Mars, Shayera's brutal and hard nature noticeably softened and she became an even bigger champion for peace, third only to Superman and Wonder Woman. He figures it had to do with her exile from Thanagar, she had no one else to impress except for her own team and the people of Earth. She was still a kickass though when the situation called for it.

He looked at Hawkgirl one last time before putting the mask back on and left the room, needing to clear his head of his confusing thoughts. Would his Shayera have approved of their actions? Would she have acted the same way as they did if it happened to anyone else? John shook the questions from his head and continued to walk towards the others, wanting to have a moment's peace.

 **Universe 2**

Flash struggled against his restraints, wanting to break free and help the others. This world really paid attention to his weaknesses and blind spots if he can't vibrate his molecules through the manacles. He looked down in near defeat when he noticed he had heart monitoring sensors on his chest and an idea popped into his head just crazy enough to work. He hoped though that his counterpart hadn't thought of it and began to speed his heart up. It was dangerous of course, but he could see no other way out. As he built up the speed of his heart beats, Flash began to act as though he was going into cardiac arrest. By the time he felt his heart beat to the point where he can no longer feel the beating, he went slack as though he had just died.

He waited and waited and thought that perhaps it didn't work until he heard the doors slam open with urgency and Lord Batman yell out his name, "FLASH!" His cell door opened and he felt Lord Batman uncuff his right hand, to which he quickly fisted and punched Lord Batman unconscious. He used his freed hand to quickly free himself and placed Lord Batman in his place. Before he left he mockingly told the unconscious Lord, "You'll appreciate this someday."

Flash sped in front of Batman's cell and began to punch in all the possible combinations possible. Batman was staring at him and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying every possible lock combination." said Flash, not breaking from his concentration.

"5-1-9-3-9." said Batman. Flash stopped his progress and tried it out, watching in surprise as the door flew open.

"How'd you know?" he asked as he rushed in and unlocked Batman's restraints.

"They're the numbers I use," he said, "How'd you get out?"

"I sped up my heart until it looked like it flat lined." said Flash.

"I didn't know you could do that." said Batman.

"Neither did I but I had to try something if you weren't going to do anything." said Flash, somewhat accusingly as Batman freed himself.

"I couldn't," explained Batman as he massaged his wrists, "Not with him anticipating everything I could ever think of. But who could anticipate you?"

Flash took it as a compliment and followed him as they went to free the others. Batman freed J'onn and Diana as Flash quickly freed Lantern and they went to free Superman. John looked around the group and asked, "Where's Hawkgirl?"

Flash hesitated when he saw the disguised worry in John's face. Everybody knew that there was something brewing between Lantern and Hawkgirl despite their efforts to hide it, but they had no idea to what extent the level of their relationship was at.

"We don't know where they put her." said Batman.

"What do you mean you don't know?" growled John, feeling worry and fear grow in him.

"We mean that they refused to tell us where she is," informed Batman to John and the others, "All my counterpart said was that she was safe."

"Why wouldn't they tell us where she is?" asked Diana, worried for her warrior sister.

"We think it has to do with happened to this world's Hawkgirl." said Batman as he led them to the computers.

"What happened?" asked Superman as they watched Batman type into the computer. Horror and shock spread through all of them as they read of the anniversary of her death two years ago. They couldn't read much more into it except that she was the victim of a fake law and accusation Luthor had passed in an effort to boost his image as President.  
"Luthor was President?" cried out Superman, not believing what he was reading.

"Yes, and it appears that his attempt to boost his image also proved to be his downfall," said Batman as they continued reading the reports, "He tried to disband the League and bring the world into a nuclear fallout as President after the reports were leaked to the public."

"Our counterparts stopped him though?" asked Diana.  
"Yes, but not the way we would do it." said Batman as he clicked on the next report and they were shocked to see the media report headline read " **Justice Lords dispatch President Luthor: Nuclear War Averted** ".

"They… killed him?" asked J'onn, shocked that it had went this far.

"Yes, and it appears that they might pretend to be us and dispatch the Luthor of our world." said Batman, finally putting in some of the pieces to the puzzle.

"It still doesn't tell us where they had put Hawkgirl." said John, frustrated that they had forgotten about their missing member.

"No, but we do have someone who can tell us." said Batman as he got up from the chair and the others followed him outside to where the Lord Batman was being held.

 **Universe 1**

Shayera groaned and tried to open her eyes, only to feel like lead weights were weighing them down. She had a raging headache going through her mind and she stopped moving in order for it to pass. Shayera decided to instead use her other senses in order to determine where she was. She remembered attempting to fly away from the counterparts of her team members but had failed. She swallowed in order to determine if she had a damaged throat but was surprised to find herself healed. She opened her eyes slowly and found that she could only keep them open half way. She could hardly move actually which came to a shock for her. She attempted to lift her hand, only to feel a restraint hold it down.

Shayera moved her head slowly and saw the she was indeed restrained to a hospital bed. She looked around the room and recognized it as the infirmary they have on the Watchtower. Shayera raised her head to look outside the window and sure enough, she could see the Earth rotating slowly from afar. The next question to ponder then was if she was back in her universe or if she was still in the other universe. Shayera had no idea and she wanted to sleep, but she knew that it was the sedatives being injected into her. She tried to move her legs but they were non-responsive to her commands, proving to Shayera that whoever had her in here wants her to stay here.

Shayera moved her head when she heard the door slide open and the silhouette of John Stewart stood on the doorway. Her heart beat fast when she recognized his form and was about to call out to him when he moved into the light. She remained silent and still as she recognized the alternate Lantern and wondered where her John Stewart was. She swears to Ra'tha that she will kill the alternate League if they had hurt John or the others. Despite her mission as a sleeper agent on Earth, Shayera had accepted the growing love she had for the League and to the people of Earth. Her superiors would definitely be angry at her, especially Hro, but her growing love for John Stewart was slowly overriding all of her senses. She just wishes he was the one in front of her and not his counterpart.

"We need to talk," he said as he walked further into the room, "I know about your mission from Thanagar." Shayera would have felt herself jump in fear at his knowledge of her mission had he not continued to say, "I know about it because you told me before we even thought of getting together. You managed to avert an invasion on Earth after learning that they were going to kill Earth."

Shayera blinked in surprise at his words. Thanagar planned to kill Earth? Impossible, the military might be brutal at times but Shayera never had reason to believe that they will go so far as to eliminate entire planets. Maybe it was a trick, but as she looked at John's counterpart she knew that he was telling the truth just by the way he was looking at her.

"They had planned to have you assimilate yourself on Earth in order for you to give up our weaknesses under false pretenses that it was for our own good," continued John, "When J'onn found out the truth though, he informed us all and you lead the assault on your own superiors including your ex-fiancée. Truth be told, they weren't happy but you chose right in the end. Thanagar used Mars as the planet and they managed well in the war, but you were exiled for your actions."

Shayera laid there in shock. So much has happened for them but why was he telling her now?

"You're probably wondering why I'm telling you this," guess John's counterpart, "It's so that way after we fix everything here for you and the others, you can have your chance to make things right. I know it seems like what we're doing is a little extreme for now, but trust me Shayera it's for the good of you."

Shayera was surprised that he knew her name. As far as she could tell, no one else aside from Diana and Superman knew her name. She made them swear never to tell the others her name and wondered if their Shayera had done the same. The only other way he could know her name was if they were… were they? Shayera turned her attention to his left hand and saw the engagement ring. Her eyes widened a little at the revelation but John didn't notice as he was looking out the window. He looked back at her and she saw the sorrow in his eyes. What happened to his universe's Hawkgirl?

He stood up from his seating position and fully faced her. She wearily watched as he hesitantly reached for her mask and gently pulled it off. Shayera wanted to scream at him that he may have had his Hawkgirl's permission to remover her mask, but he sure as hell didn't have hers. He didn't seem to notice the slight angry glint in her eyes as he gently stroked her hair and face. Shayera wanted to stay mad at him but how many times has she secretly dreamed of her John doing the same thing to her? As much as she wanted to believe she will remain faithful to Hro, the truth was that she was falling hard for John and he was the wind beneath her literal wings. Hro was a suitable mate for her and her community had deemed them to be a worthy match, but John was the one who held her heart.

Shayera watched as John's counterpart slowly dipped his head and kissed her on the lips. Shayera felt her senses light on fire as he deepened the kiss. How many nights has she dreamt about this? Too many. She only wished again that it was her John and not his counterpart. He carefully climbed on top of the bed, making sure not to disturb the IV and laid down next to Shayera. So many lonely nights spent trying to forget about her and here he was reliving the experience. He kissed her again and felt her give a small kiss back, igniting his senses in the familiar fire. He kissed her harder and parted her lips so he can taste her fully again, caressing her face with his hands.

Shayera was breathing heavily at this new feeling. Even when she had kissed Hro there was a small form of passion, but this was a wildfire. She imagined it to be her John though and she stopped herself and moved her face away. The other John seemed disappointed but also understanding, surprisingly.

"I know," he said, "I'm not him. But I want you to consider living with me in case things don't turn out right. We are trying to help you but if it doesn't work then… I want you to stay with me in my universe, _where it's safe_."

With those final words, he left Shayera to her thoughts, which were buzzing around her head. She desperately wanted to confess to her friends about who she truly is but she was afraid of how they would react. But if it worked out well for her counterpart, then it can work for her too. All she has to do now is figure out a way to escape and get back to her friends.

 **Hey readers, so this is going to be a three chapter story and I plan to make a sequel soon, but I really want to focus my attention on finishing** **Commissioner Hol** **and** **Balance** **before I think about writing another story. Until then, please leave reviews so I know what you guys think. Thank you :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Universe 2**

"Where is she?" asked Bruce as he and the others stood outside the cell of where Lord Batman was held. Lord Batman was silent though and just glared at the Justice League while he remained shackled. He especially glared at his counterpart, they both knew that he will never talk.

"Why then? Why take her away from us?" asked John, frustrated when the silence dragged on. His worry for Shayera was growing as more time passed by. They had just came back from the mission against Despero two weeks ago and his protectiveness over Shayera had increased tenfold. He needed to know where she was and to see that she truly was safe, this topsy-turvy world was starting to get on his nerves.

"Fine then," said Batman as he walked away from his counterpart, "when we find her and stop your team, we'll be sure to make it our mission that you receive the punishment that you deserve."

"You're making a mistake." said Lord Batman finally.

"What mistake? Giving people their rights as humans to exercise free will? You made that mistake when you refused democracy to the people." said Batman.

"Democracy doesn't keep you very safe," retorted Lord Batman.

"It has other virtues, but you seem to have forgotten them" said Batman.

"I didn't forget," said Lord Batman a little loudly, "I just chose peace and security."

"You grabbed power!" said Batman, not believing that his counterpart will willingly chose this lifestyle.

"And with that power we created a world where no eight year old boy loses his parents because of _some punk with a gun_."

It was quiet. To those that didn't know Batman as Bruce Wayne, they were shocked to have this little information revealed like this. Batman glared at his counterpart for bringing up his parents, but in some way they were his parents too. Batman narrowed his eyes at his counterpart and walked away, leaving the others silent and still. Superman looked at Lord Batman and opened the cell and took away the utility belt, crushing it in his hands.

"Just to be safe," said Superman, he used his heat vision to seal the cell door shut and ensuring that Lord Batman will have a difficult time getting out. The remainder of the Justice League followed Batman outside the prison and they made their way to random hospitals. It was depressing for the League to see how people reacted on seeing them make their way to hospitals. The doctors and nurses were nervous and flighty, terrified of displeasing the Justice Lords in some way. Diana found it difficult trying to maintain a cool face when a child in a hospital gripped her mother's hand in a terrified way when Diana walked by the room. The child had actually whimpered when Diana looked at them, prompting to Diana wanting to reassure the child that there was nothing to fear only to remember that her counterpart had made it very clear that she was someone to be feared and obeyed.

She cursed her counterpart for spreading this type of fear in this world. It wasn't the Amazonian way to treat people like this. Batman was right, there was no democracy in this world. Their counterparts had taken it away and began to treat the people of Earth as though they were merely children that needed to be punished. And if they continued to misbehave… Diana shook her head after reading several reports when she had gone to the library with Batman.

 _"_ _What are we doing here, Batman?" asked Diana, wondering why they were cutting their search for Hawkgirl. They had decided to split up into three teams of two with Superman and Flash staying in Metropolis, J'onn and Lantern heading towards the Watchtower to gather more information, and Diana and Batman made their way to Gotham.  
"I need to look for something," was all Batman had said as they walked in. Normally libraries were silent with the occasional sounds of pages turning or quiet conversations being made. The two walked in and the silence that greeted them was one to expect from a dead man. Diana saw that many of the people in the library had fearfully stopped talking and had their head buried in the books, not wanting to make eye contact with the Justice Lords. Diana followed Batman to the front desk where he told the librarian, "I need to take a look at all records of the last two years."_

 _The frightened librarian hastily led them to the archive and quickly left the room after Batman said that he was not needed. Diana felt pity for the old man as he scurried out of the room, but she began helping Bruce read through several newspapers, online reports, and census. So far, the Justice Lords appeared to be super benevolent and fair to the people of Earth which frustrated Batman to no end._

 _"_ _They took over every media news outlet," he growled._

 _"_ _Then where should we look? These reports were made by groups of people that were too afraid to fight and stand up for their rights." said Diana._

 _"_ _That's true," agreed Batman, "But I know where we can."_

 _Diana followed Bruce to a mansion that was located deep in the woods just outside of Gotham. She took a quick glance at Batman and wondered what connection he has to the mansion. Lord Batman's revealing information about both his and Batman's past shocked her and the others. She never knew the kind of trauma that haunted Batman but now she knew and now Batman was no longer the gloomy hero but a tragic man to her. Batman approached the front door of the mansion and opened the door, walking inside. Diana then began to wonder if he lived here as he easily navigated through the house and into another room. Diana followed him and watched as he opened a hidden switch in the bust and a secret passageway was revealed._

 _Diana followed him down the stairs and was amazed at the cave they were now in. So this was the legendary Batcave. Diana marveled at the technology that was everywhere in the cave and the renovations that were made in order to accommodate the vehicles she has seen Batman use. A giant computer monitor was on the side and they walked to it. Batman turned the computer on and began to type in the computer, pulling up Lord Batman's reports of the last two years._

 _As they read through the reports, they were sick in their stomachs at how many people were killed for not conforming to the new world. Many people fighting for their basic rights were arrested and never seen again because they were lobotomized by Superman and placed under new identities. Batman was especially horrified at reading the reports about the lobotimization of a man named Alfred Pennyworth and a young man named Richard Grayson. Apparently the two tried to rally a Gotham protest, but were quickly arrested and placed in Arkham where they went through the process and were sent across the country to live new yet blank lives._

 _Batman was shaking in his seat with horror, rage, and sorrow. He didn't allow himself to cry but he certainly cursed his counterpart to hell. He stood up abruptly from his seat and looked at the machine next to the computer. Diana had watched Batman shake at reading the reports of the man named Alfred and the young man named Richard. He began to examine the machine next to them and asked, "Is that our way home?"_

 _"_ _It could be," said Batman, "I'll need to examine it though. Go look in the hospitals while I figure this out. I'll call you all in if there's an emergency."_

So Diana was now standing on top of the hospital roof, trying to ease her sick feeling. This new world was so terrified of the Justice Lords, but she wondered if perhaps people saw them the same way in their own universe. True they didn't force their will on the people, but she still wondered if people will fear that they will go the same way. Diana sighed and flew on towards another hospital, intent on finding their missing friend and escaping from this universe.

John was feeling worried as they looked through the Watchtower. He and J'onn hoped to find out where the Lords might have placed Shayera while they were out pretending to be them. Many of the workers in the Watchtower were ignoring them, only focusing on their work. It worked well with John as he didn't want to deal with people while pretending to be his counterpart. He let J'onn work through the computers while he investigated the whole satellite. He investigated the individual rooms and saved this universe's Hawkgirl's room for last. He had no idea what to expect but he was outside of the door.

He slid the door open and walked inside wearily. It wasn't much different from his Hawkgirl's room in their universe. The only noticeable and shocking difference was the baby crib that was next to her bed. John numbly walked into the room and approached the baby crib. She was pregnant? She was going to give birth? Did she already give birth before her death? John had no idea, but as he looked at the empty crib a stab went through his heart and at some level he can see why this universe's Justice League had reacted so badly. To have such an innocent life taken away like that when they could have prevented it. John sighed and touched the crib gently. He walked out of the room and flew towards J'onn, wanting to put some distance between himself and the room.

Who was the father? Did she love him? Did he love her? Who was the father?

These questions were clouding his mind and it was giving him a headache. Why should he care who the father was? Sure, he and Hawkgirl have actually gotten closer as friends and he can feel a certain type of tension building between them. He had no idea what to make of it, but he knew that he wanted more than friendship from Hawkgirl. He wanted to see the woman behind the mask. There were many nights spent imaging how she looked behind the mask and he wanted to live out those dreams. He always held back though for fear that he might ruin a good working relationship. When he met up back with J'onn, who found nothing in the computers, they both left the Watchtower and decided to help out Superman and Flash.

Superman meanwhile was having a hard time talking with this universe's Lois Lane.

"As if you expect me to believe that." snarked Lois as she walked away from whom she perceived to be Lord Superman.

"Lois, I'm not kidding! I'm a Superman from another dimension!" he said, following Lois in her apartment. He was surprised to see armed men outside her door but walked in, trying to seem aloof. Lois meanwhile immediately attacked him for continuing his stupid curfew. He had earlier sent Flash to quickly check every single building in Metropolis while he tried to get more information out of Lois.  
"You just want me to say something wrong so you can put me away like you did the others! Like what you did to JIMMY!" she yelled. Superman stopped in his tracks immediately at her outburst. What did his counterpart do to Jimmy?  
"Lois, believe me! I'm just trying to know more about this dimension so I can find out where the Lords have put Hawkgirl—"

"—Oh that's sick! Why do you bring her in this argument? Haven't you defiled her memory enough?" yelled Lois, no longer caring about restricting her thoughts. If her last moments on Earth would be her exercising her basic human rights then so be it.

"Lois, please! I'm begging you to believe me! Listen to me!" he pleaded. He felt sick. What happened to Jimmy? How many atrocities had his counterpart made?

"Leave Superman! You took Jimmy from us, you took so many away from us! Just leave!" she cried out, tears running down her eyes. Superman hesitated but obliged to her request. He flew out the window with a heavy heart and flew around Metropolis looking for Flash. There was so much that needed to be answered for and his counterpart needed to be brought to justice. He just needed a way to help the people of this Earth find a way to properly contain a virtually indestructible man.

"I need everybody to report to the Batcave immediately." said Batman in the comm-link.  
"Big problem Bats," said Flash in the link, "We have no idea where."

"Follow either Superman or Diana. They know where to go." said Batman and he cut his feed. Superman found Flash near Downtown and called out his name. They both ran into Lantern and J'onn and they made their way to Gotham. They met up with Diana on the outskirts of Gotham and they all made their way to the Batcave. They were met with the sight of Batman fighting against his counterpart. They immediately leapt into action and it ended rather quickly. His counterpart struggled against Diana's lasso while the others circled around him.

"You don't know what kind of world you created don't you?" asked Diana. Lord Batman glared at Diana, who kept talking, "You not only took away people's rights but you took away their identities! Their lives! Their minds!"

"They don't know what's good for the people!" yelled Lord Batman.

"And you do? You're a tyrant," said Superman, no longer willing to stay out of the conversation, "people fear you."

"It's better to be feared and have a safer world." said Lord Batman.  
John didn't want to involve himself in the conversation but his earlier discovery was gnawing at his head. He had to know.

"How far along was she?" he asked quietly. The others heard him and were shocked at his question.

"Seven months," informed Lord Batman, "Seven months of carrying that baby only to be killed because someone who held too much power in his hands decided to boost his image."

"Why her though? Why of us all did he go after her?" asked Batman.

"That's for your Hawkgirl to tell." said Lord Batman. They all seemed shock that their Hawkgirl would know why her counterpart was executed in this manner. Batman had tried earlier to pull up the reports but Lord Batman had erased every file that existed before the two years.

"You and your friends have caused enough tyranny on the world. We may not know where Hawkgirl is, but we will find her after we have detained your team and stop their tyranny. It's time to give the people back their rights." said Superman. Batman had started up the machine and everybody got ready. When the familiar light square was up, they each went in one by one except Batman who stayed behind to confront his counterpart.

"I hope for your sake you find some small form of redemption in the people you hurt. What you've done to Richard… to Alfred… you don't deserve to live. You don't deserve any form of redemption. I hope that someone in this world still cares for Bruce Wayne, because in this world… Batman is dead." said Batman. It was silent in the cave and just as Bruce was about to enter the portal, he heard his counterpart say, "She's with the others in your Watchtower."

Batman turned and they both stared at each other. Eventually Batman gave Lord Batman a nod in respect and entered the portal.

 **Universe 1**

Shayera was now more or less awake and was attempting to break free from her restraints. The sedatives were still in her system, prohibiting some motor function but she could still most of her body except for her wings. She tried to form words earlier but her throat was still too raw from the abuse it suffered from alternate Diana's lasso. She was still feeling a little light-headed from her kiss with the alternate John. That kiss really opened up her eyes to newer possibilities she thought weren't possible. She was a traditional Thanagarian after all. Once she was paired with her mate then that was it, but to know that there was a possible future with John… her John, then she needed to fix things right away. She was led to believe that she was there in order to find allies in order to turn the tables on the Gordanians, but if they lied to her then she didn't want any part of it. She needed to stop them before it was too late. But first, she needed to find her friends.

Shayera struggled and fought against the restraints, but they were too strong to break free. If it had been regulated straps then she could have easily torn through them. These straps though were industrial-size meant to hold not only her down, but Diana and J'onn as well. Shayera gave a small pathetic whimper when she at last gave up on trying to break free and laid back down. She needed to think of a better game plan if she is ever to break out of the infirmary. Shayera groaned when her head began to throb again. So far it has happened a total of ten times since fully awakening from the sedatives. She closed her eyes and laid her head back down on the pillows, intending to let it pass this time by relaxing.

Shayera decided to think about what to tell her friends once this nightmare was over. She couldn't very well go up to them and say "Hey guys, I'm not really a detective like I've said, but I'm actually a military spy sent on Earth in order to determine how strong your defenses are and your weaknesses and relay that information back to my commanding officer. It's alright though! I just found out I've been lied about my mission too!"

In hind sight, they will actually listen to that, but they will be very angry at her near betrayal and her dishonesty. Shayera loves them so much as though they were her own family. Her parents died in the war, leaving her to be raised by the community. It wasn't so bad, but she envious of the children that had their own families to go home to. She had thought that she could form her own family with Hro but his obsessive dedication to the military had dimmed whatever passion they used to have in the beginning of the relationship and with the new information about his lies, whatever love she used to have for him was diminished.

Her commitment to the military was also gone. They expect her to continue to be a good soldier after learning what they planned to do on Earth? No thank you. At the same time though, she couldn't abandon Thanagar. She needs to find an alternative direction in order to end the war completely and spare Thanagar and Earth from misery. The question was how and if she wanted to involve the League. Perhaps it would be better if she didn't, it wasn't their war after all.

She heard loud arguing outside the door and kept her eyes closed. She couldn't exactly hear what they were arguing about but she soon didn't have to wonder when the alternate Lantern burst into the room with the alternate Superman.

"We can't take her with us John. As much as I want to make us whole again, she doesn't belong in our universe." said the alternate Superman.

"She's better off in ours." said alternate Lantern. Shayera had to struggle to keep herself calm as she heard them talk. He wanted to take her to his universe without her consent? What happened to make him this way? Shayera knew she needed to find a way to escape and it had to be now or never. The others probably don't even know where she is. Shayera hoped though that she can escape in order to find them before alternate Lantern took her away to the other universe.

"She probably is, John. But we can't do this." said alternate Superman.

"We've been doing a lot of things that we couldn't do," retorted John, "What's one more?"

"It's… ok, alright. But we need to fix this world first John, so do whatever it is you need to do." said alternate Superman. Shayera heard the door close and alternate John sigh and walk towards the window. She opened her eyes and looked at him as he stared out at the Earth. He looked as though he had suddenly aged and she was tempted to call out and ask if he was alright, but his intentions to basically kidnap her stopped her from revealing that she was awake.

Shayera noticed the tension that seemed to be rising in his frame and the way he kept rubbing the engagement ring. Did he hope that she will just forget about her John and replace hers with him? Shayera didn't want to live in his universe but she needed to play to her strengths and her acting asleep has fooled even Superman. She saw him move to turn around and closed her eyes quickly and kept her breathing even. She heard him move to her bedside and reached for her restraints. He unclipped them all off of her but Shayera decided to keep playing the sleeping patient. To her shock he carried her gently in his arms, being very careful of her wings and letting them hang off his arms. Shayera would be lying if she said that she had felt uncomfortable. It felt nice, but like all the other times, she just wished it was her John.

He carried her out of the room and down the hall to where Shayera knew was leading to the monitor room. She heard the alternates talking amongst each other and waited with bated breath.

"J'onn," she heard alternate Superman say, "Batman has just opened up a portal in Gotham. He must have handled the others well and decided to join us. Send Lantern and Hawkgirl to meet up with him."

Shayera felt alternate Lantern step into the teleportation pad and the familiar feeling of teleportation surround her. The silence of space was changed to the sounds of cars passing by.

"What the?" she heard Lantern say, and to her joy she heard the voice of another Lantern—her John—say, "Let her go and you won't get hurt."

Many things happened at the same time. One, Shayera managed to gain a new sense of determination and she twisted out of the alternate Lantern's arms. Two, alternate Lantern was knocked unconscious by Superman and three, a very happy Flash was hugging her.

"Hawkgirl! You're safe!" he cried out. Shayera shakily gave him a weak hug, still weak from the sedatives.

"F-F…Fl…Flash." she managed to whisper out, so very happy to see her Flash and her friends… especially her John.

"What happened to your voice? What happened to your mask?" asked Flash, surprised at seeing Hawkgirl's face for the first time. The others also wondered about her mask while John was left standing stupefied at seeing her without her mask for the first time.

She had a heart shaped face that one couldn't tell she had with her mask on. She had full plump lips and a cute button nose. It was her eyes though that enthralled John. With her mask on, the white lens made her eyes appear black. With the mask off, her eyes were a vivid emerald that he had thought only existed in Oa. He was wrong though and was rendered speechless at how beautiful she looked.

"Alternates," was all Shayera could whisper.  
"It's ok. We'll kick some butt and then we can find your mask." said Flash, feeling angry at the way the normally strong fighter was rendered weak.

"Pl-plan-ning… s-some-th-thing." whispered Shayera, hoping they could understand her.

"We know. We're ready for them." said Batman, assuring Hawkgirl that they were on top of things.

"M-mace… t-tower." whispered Shayera, wanting to help.

"Absolutely no, you're going to a hospital so you can get better." scolded John. Shayera glared at him but Superman quickly interjected and said, "John's right. You're still hurt. We'll handle it, Hawkgirl. We need to put you though somewhere that isn't so public."

"Sh-Shayera." whispered Shayera.

"What?" asked J'onn.

"M-my n-name… Sh-Shayera." said Shayera, wanting to break down barriers if she was to reveal her all to them.

"Ok, Shayera," smiled John, "Come here." He lifted her up in his arms, not caring that the others were witnesses and told them, "Comm-Link me in when you have a plan and take his ring away before you contain him." John flew up in the sky wish Shayera in his arms. He looked down at her face to see her closing her eyes in exhaustion. Whatever they did to her must have put her through a real ringer.

"It's ok Shayera," he reassured her, "Go to sleep."

Shayera heard him and nuzzled closer into his neck, feeling him shudder on her contact. She focused on his breathing and was lulled to sleep a few seconds later. John shuddered when he felt her nuzzle into his neck, feeling a little flustered. He sighed when he felt her sleep against him and was comforted that she was safe again. He puzzled over why his counterpart was carrying her around in Downtown Gotham, but he decided to ask Shayera later when this was all over.

With the lantern's ring, he was able to cross distances in a short amount of time. With it, he was able to get from Gotham to Detroit in ten minutes flat. He flew to his apartment and walked inside. Most of the tenants were asleep, so John was able to walk in unnoticed. He went inside and quietly closed the door before heading towards his bedroom. With his ring he lifted the bed sheets and slid Shayera underneath them facedown so as not to jostle her wings too much. He wrapped the blankets around her and was tempted to kiss her hairline but instead stroked her cheek gently before going to the living room where he keeps his lantern. He opened the portal and brought it our and began to charge his ring.

So many things were happening at the same time that he was almost getting headache. The important thing though was that they returned to their Universe and had retrieved Shayera again. His feelings were all over the place when it came to her. In one moment, the girl is as tough as nails and rough as sandpaper, but in the next moment she is displaying a level of softness and trust by revealing her name to all of them. He desperately wished he could kiss her. Much of his fantasies were filled with what she looked like under the mask and now that he knows, he wants to kiss her now.

"John," he heard in the comm-link, "We have a plan."

It took a couple of hours and a really sour Superman in order to get things going, but by the time they were done prepping up they were ready to incapacitate the Justice Lords. It worked out better than expected. By faking Luthor's prison escape, the Lords came to Stryker's Island like moths to a flame. They were too late to react when they realized it was a trap. Using the same set up the Lords used on them, they were able to fully incapacitate the Lords and have Luthor use his power disrupter on them. When the Lords had woken up, they were sent back to their universe without their powers.

John had flown back to his apartment intent on putting Shayera in a proper hospital. She was awake when he arrived and they both gave each other warm smiles. He carried her to the Gotham General Hospital where after a week of proper treatment and a promise to attend therapy, Shayera was released able to talk and use her wings again.

There was something more now between John and Shayera. For John, it was because she had yet to put her mask back on and she gave her name away to them all. Sure it wasn't directly at him, but she had been hanging around his apartment more and more lately. It was tonight actually that everything changed.

She was watching a movie with him in his apartment that night. At one point, during a boring dramatic scene, she turned her head to look at John fully. He looked back and she got up from her seating position until she was directly across from him. She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. He immediately kissed her back, wanting to taste all of her.

She deepened the kiss and opened her mouth when she felt John's tongue seeking entry. She was breathing hard and had to lie back down on the couch when John dipped her head back so he can kiss her neck more thoroughly. He bit the skin on the place where her shoulder and neck met, earning a startled gasp, and licked the pain away. He repeated it several times and heard a low needy moan come from her. His arousal was apparent but he controlled himself and lifted her up so she was comfortably seated on his lap.

"John," she whispered, "I… I ha-"

"What?" asked John when she wouldn't continue.  
"There's something you and the others should know."

 _ **Story done, woo! Time to study, bleh. So how'd you guys like it? Sequel to the story will come just not sure when. Read and review please so I can know what you guys want to see in the sequel. Thank you :)**_


End file.
